The Journey Ends

[Carthrat]

Karil nods. "I'll do that," he promises. "As soon as I'm done eating."

[Brian]

Jeramine nods.  "Is there anything else you'd like me to see to while you eat, then?" he asks.

[Carthrat]

"A map," replies Karil, resting his chin on his hand.

"Yes, maps. As detailed and as broad as you can find them. If the monastery will not let us take them, have them copied.

And other travellers. I cannot be sure, but if this place is known as a centre of healing, then surely other men and women will have come to this place. Have men talk to them, and talk to them yourself- particularly any from the Eastern Kingdoms.

Even if they are as common as flies these days, seek news of strange events from them. As I doubt the East Wind is of any mundane origin, look to odd occurances and coincidences. We can sort through them later to determine what is truth, and what is false."

[Brian]

Jeramine looks thoughtful, and nods.  "The maps I've already seen to -- they asked us not to take them, but said we could have them if we insisted.  We had time while you were ill, so our copies are already scribed on hide," he explains.  Hide is commonly used as a surface to etch things on by travelers, as it tends to weather better than paper.  "I'll pick a few of the friendlier men to chat with the other visitors.  There are a few, but by the maps....  Well, here," he says, pulling a segment of rolled up hide from one pocket and handing it to Kesir.

"I'll report back in an hour," he adds, before he vanishes.  The hide in Kesir's hands fits on the bedside stand while he works on his second meal.  Or his second round of his first meal.

By the map, a large desert runs to the west, northwest, and southwest.  In fact, the spot where this monastary is appears to be located between two walls of mountain that jut into the desert like a dagger.  Between the peaks is apparently jungle.  The only paths lead west, into the desert (though that road is lost -- it was only a trackless waste when Kesir led his men across it) and east.

Heading east, the road winds up into some low foothills, and then down to some small lordless walled village.  That village is a crossroad, with paths leading in five directions (not counting the road back to the monastary).

Further east, there's a sea, according to the map.  The name as copied by one of Jeramine's men is the Sea of Storms.  Of course, to get there, Jeramine would need to lead his men into the boundries of the Empire, which has a reputation that preceeds it.  The Empire won't welcome foreign soldiers in their land, so navigating it would be difficult.

South of the Empire are the Reaches of Galind, and north leads to the relatively factional Plainsmarch (rolling hills without many permanent settlements populated by nomadic peoples).

[Carthrat]

Karil taps the map a little. The Empire would be a brilliant place to begin searching; they have no shortage of sages and 'wise men', and it *is* directly east.

But as Karil isn't completely sure, there doesn't seem to be a good enough reason to risk going through it. Perhaps he could send a few men to look about. A small party would hardly be outside the bounds of a 'foreign force'. They would probably be gone for months- but Karil did not feel pressed for time just yet.

Perhaps heading Northeast would be a thought. Being a 'factional' land, it reeked of opportunity; perhaps some allies amongst the nomad tribes could be made. Perhaps some people would be willing to join the Clan.

Firstly, however, Karil decided that he may as well move to the village at the crossroads. Once that was done, he could decide what comes next as his leisure.

After eating his meal, Karil decides to get up and start walking around the room a bit, stretching out the kinks of a two-week long sleep.

[Brian]

It's because of attention to his health like that that Karil heals as quickly as he does.  Or he's a naturally fast healer.

Karil's muscles aren't kinked, but fairly stiff, as though he had strained one or two a few days ago -- perhaps in the throes of the fever.  Aside from a calf that may be bothering Karil for another day or two, he feels much better, though.

[Carthrat]

Karil hunts for some clothes (presuming, of course, that he wasn't put to bed wearing them).

Once he's suitably dressed, he opens the door and lets himself out.

[Brian]

Karil was wearing his smallclothes, but nothing else.  A bag with the bulk of Karil's wardrobe sits at the end of the bed -- Twilight Song has been set across it.  It takes only a moment to get dressed again.

[Carthrat]

Pulling his coat over his shoulders, Karil takes up Twilight Song, and looks at it quizically.

"There is still so little I truly know about you," he says to it, holding it aloft. "Hmm..."

Turning, he opens the door to his room, and steps outside.

[Brian]

Outside, the halls of the monastary are stark stone.  There are no tapestries, carpets, statuary, or even torches or candles.  All light comes in through great overhead windows of thick but heavily bubbled and somewhat warped glass.  The corridor that Karil's in appears to stretch north and south for a ways before they hit walls and turn -- both of them to the west.  It appears that Karil's room was on the perimeter of the building, and facing east.

Karil hasn't been in too many monastaries, but the design is old, and he's camped in the ruins of a few.  The structure that Karil is in is a sort of inverse wall, usually called the outer hall.  The outer hall is designed to be easily captured, as it only has two entry points to the inner hall, which has no windows.  In the event of a seige, the outer hall would be abandoned in favor of retreating to the inner hall until help arrived.  Of course, quarters in the main hall tended to be a bit cramped, so when not in seige, everyone enjoys the outer hall.

The sunlight coming in through the windows feels weak, and the air is mildly chilly.

[Carthrat]

Taking a slow, measured pace, Karil strides up north, deciding to head for the centre area; that would seem to be the place where the people in charge might stay.

[Brian]

Surprisingly enough, this turns out not to be the case.  The residents of the abbey all live on the outer edge of the building, with the exception of the cook (who sleeps on the kitchen floor) and some of the older residents, who need to be nearer the fire for their joints.

The center is instead used to house what the abbey residents find most important: their library.

The libary is a huge affair, in a room a good six meters high, and at least twenty wide and deep.  The sides are lined with monolithic wall-devouring bookshelves which climb all the way to the ceiling, and the rest of the space in the room is packet with a ramshackle collection of whatever shelving could be found, apparently.  Cheap looking or not, the shelves are crammed to nearly overflowing with texts.

There's an adjoining study to research the texts, and a few of the resident monks (the majority of them appear to be female) are examining various books.  Among them is Sasha, speaking quietly to the Elue-like over a large tome.

[Carthrat]

Karil picks out a text at random, flips to a random page, and reads it (searching, of course, for useful quotes).

Filing away the location of the book, he heads over to Sasha and Elue, peering over at the book they're reading, too.

[Brian]

Karil's first chosen text isn't even in a language he recognizes.  That gets switched out quickly for what appears to be a book about herbs, and their medicinal qualities.  It also suggests which to plant near where your sheep graze to help keep them healthy.

The book Elue and Sasha are studying appears to be similar, but much more complex.  Their book goes into detail on how to extract medicines from poisonous herbs.  Sounds kind of dangerous.  Elue glances briefly at Karil as he approaches, but says nothing.

"Good morning, Lord Karil, I hope you're feeling better?" Sasha asks, not looking up from the current page (which appears to cover holly berries).

[Carthrat]

"Very," replies Karil, giving a short bow. "Once again, I must thank you for your help and hospitality.

If you have the time, I would like to speak with you in detail..."